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BEST PLACE TO JOG Wirth Parkway to Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden to Lake of the Isles It's all a matter of scenery and challenge. Take the running path west along Cedar Lake to the beaches; early in the morning you can watch the sunrise. Continue to the bridge crossing 394 and you'll enter Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden, where a serpentine stretch takes you up and down and round a quaking bog to the pond thick with lily pads, through arches of elm bordered with May apple. Run on to fields of black-eyed susans and daisies to a steep slope. It's the kind of run that surprises you with dips and turns, unable to see the end until you're upon it. If you set off early enough, you'll have it all to yourself. If it's high noon, you'll be sheltered from the sun. Keep running west and you'll follow the golf course, further still, north to Memorial Park--a long, wide, green swath in the midst of family homes. Head back and you'll end up looping Lake of the Isles, the hub of summer activity and a true urban park: see lovers embrace on the stone bridge near Dean Parkway, watch willows bend gracefully at the shore, observe candy-colored kayaks skimming the water, and eye kids on three-wheelers racing moms with strollers. Cross under the bridge to Lake Calhoun and finish at the pavilion for a well-deserved ice cream sandwich.
BEST BATTING CAGE Grand Slam Sports & Entertainment Center Ping. Ping. Ping. Ah, with springtime comes the sweet, sweet sound of metal on horsehide. And there's no better place for steroid-free swings than Grand Slam, which, along with six batting cages, boasts a go-cart track, laser tag, basketball games, mini golf, and many more diversions for the attention-deficit cabin-feverish freak in all of us. It's open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (and until midnight on Friday and Saturday), so there are no excuses (other than your naturally lame swing) once softball season comes round.
BEST GOLF COURSE The Minneapolis City Courses Okay, so it's not one course, it's actually five. But bear with us here. Built in the 1920s and '30s, the Minneapolis city courses boast beautiful views, challenging but fair holes lined with mature trees, and eminently walkable layouts. Yet each has its own personality, and taken as a whole they present an enduring challenge to the avid golfer. Want to tone your legs while battling burbling Bassett Creek? Traipse the hills of Wirth. Looking for a flatter, pro-style track with lots of narrow fairways? Go to Gross. Up for some high risk-high reward shots? Head to Hiawatha. Hit it long and straight? Perhaps you can tame Meadowbrook. While the city courses aren't quite the bargain they used to be, the steadily rising greens fees have been funneled back into the system to pay for substantial and much-needed improvements. Ten years ago, for example, a soaking rain could render many a hole unplayable. No more. Fairways have been raised, holes realigned, and strategically placed holding ponds have improved drainage and provided a welcome habitat for birds. More recently, Columbia and Hiawatha have added comprehensive practice facilities, and Gross is adding a driving range this spring. Minneapolis residents can buy a patron card for $60, which knocks five bucks off each round. And the powers that be finally got smart a few years back and outlawed fivesomes, which were a particularly common buzz-kill at Columbia (there's nothing like baking in the sun for five hours while the deluded hackers in front of you labor over gimmes for beer money). They also made the switch to teemaster.com's online reservation system, which has largely eliminated the cronyism that used to swallow up all the good tee times. If forced to pick a favorite, we'd have to choose Wirth. If you've never had the pleasure, sneak in a twilight nine there some warm summer night and marvel from the third-hole tee box as the setting sun washes the city skyline in a soft orange glow. Or hop on the back nine and watch for deer, foxes, woodchucks, herons, and egrets. Oh yeah...the golf's good too. Readers' Choice: Hiawatha Golf Gourse BEST BOWLING ALLEY Mady's Bowl & Lounge Mady's is a well-kept secret, and we're tempted to keep it that way. Why not send the hipsters to Elsie's and keep this Nordeast gem/dump to ourselves? Located in the basement of a strip mall, next to a mattress store, Mady's is about as unprepossessing as lanes come, with a stuffed marlin over the bar entrance who looks like he's seen better days, and with bits of insulation bleeding out of the walls in places. But no matter. Tuesdays and Fridays, you won't find a cheaper date anywhere, with $1.50 games, taps, and burgers. On Saturdays, $13 will get you the chance to bowl for some pretty decent jackpots while getting lit on strong, cheap well drinks. Be warned, though: Moonlight Bowling gets crowded, so plan to show up by at least 8:30.
Readers' Choice: Bryant-Lake Bowl BEST BIKE TRAIL Cannon Valley Trail This seems as good a time as any to congratulate Mr. Mike Sandberg from outlying Guthrie, Minnesota, who almost single-handedly has jeopardized the existence of some 1,300 miles of Minnesota bike trails. His lawsuit, filed with two other plaintiffs, led to an appeals court ruling that revoked the old railroad easements providing public access to cyclists. The nearly 100 planned miles of the Paul Bunyan trail, stretching from Brainerd to Bemidji, are the first under threat. It remains to be seen whether Sandberg's campaign will threaten the national rails-to-trails movement as a whole. For now, though, the most scenic and nearby getaway remains the 20-mile Cannon Valley trail, which runs alongside the Cannon River about an hour south-by-southeast of St. Paul. The wheel fee--$3 for a day pass; $12 for the season--may rile your inner Mike Sandberg. But then all the funds go toward maintenance of this quiet, flat path, which seems in a more Carl Sandburg kind of spirit. A pit stop at the tiny town of Welsh, about 10 miles along, provides rest rooms and a water spigot. Round-trippers can roll into the Target parking lot near the butt end of the trail in Red Wing and pick up some proper, neon-colored sports drink for the return ride. On a quiet day or a late afternoon you can ride two abreast on this very smooth asphalt; at other times, swift pelotons of uniformed cyclists will materialize out of the trees and whip past you in about the amount of time it takes you to say, Gee, isn't that ocher-colored oak prairie a thing of splendor?
BEST TENNIS COURTS College of St. Catherine Why should we tell you and everyone else our favorite hidden gem of tennis courts? Oh, yeah--that's our job. Sorry. We lost our (ahem) grip for a minute, pained as we are to divulge these fine courts, tucked away from view on the east side of St. Kate's campus, behind the dorms. Pull in the driveway off Fairview, mosey around, and eventually you'll discover six well-surfaced courts, complete with windbreakers if needed. These nets are a little busy in spring when the school team is practicing, but it quiets down in summer once most of the students have left. After your game, you can take a nice walk around the nearby rolling fields and/or catch a youth game at the cozy little baseball diamond nearby. Win or lose, it's an excellent urban escape.
BEST BEACH Hidden Beach We tried. We really did. Over the past year, we journeyed into the suburban hinterlands in search of a better beach than Minneapolis's beloved muddy strand on Cedar Lake. But even after being deforested and exposed, Hidden Beach still stands as our most eminent summer getaway that's still within city limits. And even with the MPD making regular rounds to crack down on would-be revelers who dare to kiss the lips of Mary Jane or Mickey's Big Mouth in public, our allegiance to the Twin Cities' longtime sanctuary of lakeside merriment remains steadfast. Bring it on, Mud Man. We're ready for summer.
Readers' Choice: Lake Calhoun BEST FISHING HOLE Mississippi River, by the powerhouse at the Ford Dam First, a disclaimer: This is not a legal place to boat, nor is it an especially safe place to boat. If you fall overboard when the river is running hard, you might drown. Even in calm conditions, there are risks. On summer weekends, the place is lousy with lawmen, so should you venture into this forbidden zone, you might want to keep an eye peeled for the water patrol and stick to 3.2 beer. Despite all these impediments, the rewards of fishing the Ford Dam are hard to resist. A remarkable number of indigenous and exotic freshwater fish frequent these waters, including walleye, channel catfish, smallmouth, mooneye, quillbacks, white bass, drum, and--during June spawning movements--that most underappreciated of predators, the mighty flathead cat. Under certain conditions, astounding concentrations of carp stack up in the shallows by the spillway. You can see them in a mass, as they writhe with half their bodies sticking out of the water. Because the dam attracts so many fish, the angling action can be absurdly fast. When the fish are in a frenzy--often in the minutes leading up to a storm--catches in the double digits are not rare. Alas, neither are citations.
BEST PICNIC SPOT West River Road If you haven't explored the downtown side of the Mississippi, between Broadway and Hennepin Avenues, you are severely missing out. The water floats gracefully by a sloped bank, which affords privacy from the nearby street. Clumps of trees and plants, along with a carpet of well-tended grass, are home to a surprising range of wildlife, from eagles to the occasional fox. One of the nicest spots of all abuts Plymouth Avenue North--it's a wooded park, complete with picnic tables and benches. This whole strip is quite lovely, and its proximity to downtown makes it the perfect getaway for that quick romantic lunch with a special co-worker. While it's true that the city has been trying like hell to ruin the riverfront by slapping up endless rows of condos, they have yet to damage the river's intrinsic beauty. And lest these new, high-buck tenants begin to think they own the place, show up often with your picnic basket and stay until sundown. Readers' Choice: Minnehaha Falls BEST PLACE TO BIRD-WATCH Whitewater Wildlife Management Area For most of us, memorable bird-watching is an accidental phenomenon: Out of the corner of our eye, we notice a huge raptor hovering in the sky, or a UFO with distinctively bright plumage whizzing through the trees. But if you want to get purposeful about it, the vast acreage of Whitewater--located about 100 miles southeast of the Cities and 25 miles east of Rochester--provides the best year-round variety of potentially fruitful discoveries. According to the latest edition of Kim Eckert's definitive A Birder's Guide to Minnesota, it's one of the state's most consistent nesting and wintering areas for the red-shouldered hawk and a place where a few golden eagles spend the winter. Herons, egrets, cuckoos, owls, ducks, and ruffled grouse also can be found along the spring-fed creeks and the Whitewater River that cuts through the preserve, and wild turkeys are plentiful--Whitewater is the first place in the state where the fowl were successfully introduced back into the woods in the 1960s. Tenderfoots can go to the Whitewater headquarters and watch birds flock to the nearby feeders, or troll down Highways 74 and 37 with eyes peeled. But this is also one of the prettiest parts of Minnesota, with scores of red cedar, high limestone bluffs, and patches of prairie and wetlands within easy reach. If you're lucky, Eckert infers, you may even stumble across a rare Louisiana waterthrush or an even more elusive yellow-breasted chat.
BEST PLACE TO CAMP The island next to the Riverside Power Plant, Minneapolis Who says you have to leave the city to go camping? As many as 500 people "camp" in Minneapolis every single night. Granted, most of the homeless hot spots leave something to be desired. The highway overpasses--a mainstay--are noisy, smelly places. The grass median on Royalston Avenue is very popular, though that has more to do with its proximity to social services and bars than intrinsic naturalist appeal. But in certain hidden corners of the city, there are some great places to pitch a tent, crack a beer, and enjoy some solitude. The best spot is a little unnamed island in the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. It sits across from the Riverside Power Plant in Northeast. There's nothing fancy here: trees, sand, a rope swing. But it has a glorious view of the downtown skyline and, when the river is running high, great smallmouth fishing. While it is not legal to camp on the island, that too has an upside: At least you don't need to muck around with permits or reservations. One word of caution: You might want to bring a rake, because sometimes this little slice of paradise is covered with goose shit. BEST PLACE TO CANOE Kettle River It's safe to say that canoeing on Minnesota rivers is about as popular nationally as visiting the library at Daytona Beach. In the world of paddling, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area may be Minnesota's claim to greatness, but there are a lot of folks in the state who know the BWCA best as an endless series of newspaper articles about motorized access blood feuds. Fact is, most Minnesotans have never portaged in the Boundary Waters with or without a motor. But you don't need to reserve a campsite in April and block off a week from work to take advantage of some wild stretches of Minnesota water. Close to the cities, the upper stretches of the St. Croix offer true isolation and handsome bluffs, free from all motorized traffic. (A number of outfitters will rent you a boat, or shuttle you back to your car with your own vessel.) A little farther away--and still not requiring an overnight--you can canoe daylong stretches of the St. Louis River west of Duluth without seeing a soul. (That is, unless you believe deer, muskrat, beavers, and walleye have souls, but that's a metaphysical question better suited to some other forum). And if you like the Class II or III rapids of the St. Louis (in high water), you're going to love the Banning Rapids of the Kettle River. This is some technical, whitewater paddling over chutes with appropriately daunting names such as Dragon's Tooth, Hell's Gate, and, um, Mother's Delight.
BEST PLACE TO HIKE Afton State Park This splendid park is the place to hike when you sleep till noon on a Sunday, go out for waffles and read the paper, and then decide you'd like to get away from it all for a while before it's dark outside and your office is making its usual Monday morning claim on your life. Sloping from pine tree prairies down to the rolling St. Croix River, Afton offers something that's in short supply around these parts: topographical variety. God bless the plains, but strolling along three miles of level turf is a little like completing three laps around the third floor of the megamall. Once you get off the paved path along the sandy St. Croix riverbank, a variety of trails winds off to the north and west. These lead you past a few hike-in camping spots and up to a quiet meadow that overlooks the ski lift across the way. Even the ornithologically challenged can't help but spot the meadowlarks in these rolling grasslands, perched in hardscrabble trees above the prairie flowers. Tromping up and down these hills on a summer day, you may build up enough sweat to require a stop at one of the beaches along the river. How about dropping the state plan to construct new ballparks and building some more mountains instead?
BEST PLACE TO LEARN TO DANCE Date Night Dance, Friday Evenings, at the Arthur Murray Dance Studios The sleeper find of the year for would-be dancers is the Date Night Dance classes offered by the St. Paul Arthur Murray Studio. For a measly $25 per couple, you can learn the basics of social dance, in a real studio, from actual instructors. No smoke. No meat market. And when you show up at the salsa club of your choice, the rockabilly event of the year, or even just at the Rodeo for a turn on the hardwood, you'll have the basics under your belt and the confidence to adapt to the dance du jour. Classes tend to be smallish. In fact, the night we went we were the only couple in attendance, privy to a private lesson for the price of a movie and popcorn.
BEST PLACE TO PLAY POOL Fat Boy Billiards There's nothing fancy about this Northeast pool hall. No booze. No food to speak of. No flashing lights or live DJs. Fat Boy can lay claim to one simple boast: the finest collection of pool tables and cues in town. This is the place to shoot some serious stick with no distractions--and therefore no excuses. The decade-old, 20-table, two-story hall has the feel of a local institution. Beads for tallying wins and losses hang from the ceiling. A cloud of cigarette smoke continually lingers in the air. A gaggle of old-timers can usually be found taking in the bewildering action on one of the three-cushion billiards tables. And it's cheap too: You can shoot pool from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. for just $9.35 ($7.15 for seniors). Otherwise it's $4.50 an hour for solo shooters and $7.50 an hour for two or more players.
Readers' Choice: City Billiards Bar & Cafe BEST PLACE TO ROLLERBLADE The Mississippi River Roads For years this category has been a see-saw battle between the Dome and the Lakes. It's time to break the tie and the routine by honoring a place less congested than the shorelines and more outdoorsy than the HHH. When you need a place to roll without stress, the River Roads' long straightaways are a great benefit to relative beginners, with plenty of spacious green spots on the west side for brief rests--or soft landings. More adventurous bladers can escape the pack and enjoy a little downhill rush and the strenuous climb on the West River Road's north slope near Lake Street. There's room for everyone. The long, high shelf on the south side of the West River Road affords a breathtaking panorama. If the river view wasn't enough, don't forget the interesting architecture: fancy on the east side (Eastcliff, etc.), funky on the west, which features everything from Tudor styles to Streamline Moderne.
BEST PLACE TO WATCH A MOVIE OUTDOORS Loring Park (Summer Music and Movies) It's a measure of Twin Citians' appreciation of cinema under the stars that there actually is a little competition for this title. Stevens Square Park has played host to a lively series of movies (and music) for years, and Nordeast's Bottineau Park and St. Paul's El Rio Park became worthy additions last summer. (The latter's Sound of Music sing-along on the night before the Fourth of July was a blast--and we don't even like the movie!) But an old favorite--Loring Park--will retain its distinction this year, owing in large part to co-presenter Walker Art Center's considerable clout in securing both bands and films. (The "guest DJ" thing in between the live music and the movie is a fun touch, too.) And since the museum is "without walls" this year, we're guessing they'll put even more effort into making one of its few film/video events before the 2005 Walker reopening a worthy one.
BEST PUBLIC PARK Como Park Maybe Como Park isn't as vast as it appears. Perhaps the park's topography--its myriad rolling hills and winding drives--make it seem grander than it is. Certainly, density accounts for some of its splendor. After all, no other green space in the metro offers Como's variety: a zoo, an amusement park, a world-class conservatory, a lake with paddleboat rentals, and a restored 19th-century carousel, not to mention some of the sexiest picnic spots this side of San Juan Capistrano and the usual complement of trees and whatnot. Plus, the café at Como Lakeside Pavilion, a lovely entity in its own right, sells wine. Yes, wine. Take that, Minneapolis!
Readers' Choice: Como Park BEST SIGN OF SPRING Exposed flesh For the naturalists, there are bird migrations. For the news junkies, there are heartening reports of snowmobilers crashing through thin ice. For the baseball nuts, there is spring training. For everyone else, there is something much better: the sudden, dramatic spectacle of vast swaths of flesh exposed for public consumption. What a glorious relief it is. After all, the grimmest aspect of our long winters isn't frigid temperatures. It isn't the long night. It isn't snow. It is the winter wardrobe. For half the year, most people in Minnesota are swaddled in so much fabric they have all the shape and sex appeal of the Michelin Man. And then, voilà, the sun shines and this gross surfeit of coverings is shucked, showcasing shoulders, midriffs, thighs, ankles, necks, and backs. In an instant, all us hairless chimps who have been yearning to get it on have renewed cause for hope.
BEST DAY TRIP Schell's Brewery This is the story of August, who begat Otto and Adolph and Emma, who married George, who begat Alfred, who...okay, let's be done with the begetting already and talk about beer. It was 140 years ago that young German machinist August Schell first brewed 200 barrels of the stuff and started selling it to his peers. After his brewery boomed in the 1870s and '80s, he built a family mansion on the grounds and added a formal garden and a deer park in the manner of a successful burgher. Peacocks could be seen strutting around the lawns and loading docks, along with a tame crane. Around the year 1900, that 200-barrel brewery purchased a solid copper kettle that could hold 3,500 gallons. The tame crane is gone now, but little else has changed. Schell's Brewery--today the largest in the state--is wholly owned by the descendents of August Schell and continues to manufacture fine (but not fancy) beers. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the brewery opens its doors for daily tours. If you're interested in the fermentation process, or in peacocks, this is the place you want to be. And when the tour wraps, you can take a taste of everything, then zero in on your favorite brew (which, in our view, ought to be the classic pils). Bring your teenager for the 1919 Root Beer, then make him drive home.
BEST SLEDDING Green Acres Recreation Not since Clark W. Griswold greased his metal saucer with the patented super-slippery kitchen lubricant in Christmas Vacation has the sport of sledding seen such death-defying audacity. For those wanting to pay tribute to old "Sparky," Green Acres is an ideal place to do just that. Granted, the place uses inner tubes rather than saucers, but when properly applied they can be just as effective. Just 15 minutes out from downtown St. Paul, the area caters to all levels of tubers. There's the Family Hill for parents with small children, or the Big Hill for those feeling a little more adventurous. And of course, at the end of it all there is the tow rope waiting to bring everyone back to the top--perfect for those of us who resist walking uphill under any circumstances whatsoever. Admission is $8.50 for adults and $6.50 for children, covering access not only to the slopes but also the chalet and the concession stand.
BEST PLACE TO ICE SKATE Parade Ice Garden The Milwaukee Road Depot is elegant in its atmosphere and architecture, and rinks like Edina's Braemar will give you a bracing draught of hockey skating at its purest. But to paraphrase the old saw about giving tasks you want done right to your busiest employee: If you want a great place to skate, go to where all the skaters are. The three rinks at Parade, one of the gems in the Minneapolis parks system, hum with constant activity. One rink will find the Minnesota Wild practicing, another might host a birthday party, and a third, smaller ice surface (dubbed the "studio" rink) could headquarter figure skating pros refining their pupils' camel spins or a gaggle of wee wingers practicing their puck-handling moves. While Parade doesn't have the uninterrupted stretches of weekend public skating that the Depot offers, its admission prices are kinder on the wallet--$3 for adults; skate rentals are $2. And, for the price of a round of drinks at a fancy downtown watering hole, you can rent a rink for an hour. Just make sure to reserve in advance, and call ahead: Parade's ice-time cancellations list changes more than the weather report for a typical Minnesota March.
Readers' Choice: The Depot BEST PLACE TO CROSS-COUNTRY SKI Lebanon Hills Regional Park Out among the hardwood tree stands and small lakes and ponds of Lebanon Hills, the wintertime trails are nicely groomed and, better yet, never crowded. Best of all is the sense of escape from the cities; houses and paved roads are rarely visible from anywhere in the park. Judging by its proximity to the airport, you'd think passing planes might trouble the tranquility, but we can't think of a single instance of jet noise messing with our ski-induced trance. There are trails for both the novice and the workout-minded expert, and while most parks close at sunset, Lebanon Hills is open until 10:00 p.m., offering the sweet option of a moonlight ski after a long day's work.
BEST TIMBERWOLVES PLAYER Latrell Sprewell Yeah, yeah, we know. This year The Big Ticket is having a career year in a career full of career years, and there's no reason this season to dismiss the cries of "KG for MVP." But this is also likely the best Wolves team to date, and that has to do with massive roster changes in the off season. No new additions have been more instrumental in the hometown team's success this year than Sam Cassell and Latrell Sprewell, who along with Garnett comprise what's sometimes called the Big Three. Sudden Sam and KG made the all-star team this year, but Sprewell went to LA to catch his buddies in the weekend festivities on his own dime. And that's why we like Spree: He's a team player all the way. Forget his reputation as a bad seed, rooted in that one time he tried to choke his head coach or something. Ancient history. This season, Sprewell emerged as a uniter, not a divider, and his selfless play and aggressive crunch-time cool won more than a fair share of games. Besides, any frozen Midwestern heart would melt at that hairdo, which we've come to call the Milwaukee Mullet. More than that, Sprewell has emerged as the glue of the aforementioned trio, and the love he has for his new team is evident. He's no small reason why the franchise player, Garnett, finally has a franchise behind him.
Readers' Choice: Kevin Garnett BEST TWINS PLAYER Johan Santana Every time a local sports scribe includes the words "ace" and "Radke" in the same sentence, he should be immediately banished to Bemidji to serve as the paper's curling correspondent. (Yes, Gordon Wittenmyer, we're talking to you!) There's simply no evidence that Brad Radke is capable of being the ace of any pitching staff, and he's most certainly not filled that role for the Twins since signing his four-year, $36-million contract in 2000. Consider the numbers: Since 1998 he's gone 74-70. Last year he had an E.R.A. of 4.49; the year before, 4.72. Those are, at best, the stats of a No. 3 starter on a competitive team. Last season, Johan Santana emerged as the most dominant starting pitcher on the Twins' staff. This was evident by May to anyone who ever played whiffle ball. Ron Gardenhire's inexplicable insistence that Santana remain in the bullpen during the first half of the season (despite the dire state of the team's rotation) was exasperating. When Gardy finally relented in July, all the 25-year-old southpaw did was finish the season by going 8-0 with a 2.51 E.R.A, frustrating hitters with a mid-90s fastball and a devastating change-up. This season Santana will be in the rotation from day one, and by autumn, hopefully he will have nailed down the "ace" moniker for himself.
Readers' Choice: Torii Hunter BEST VIKINGS PLAYER Randy Moss The farcical finale to the season--a last-second collapse against a woeful Arizona Cardinal team--did more than merely knock the Vikings from playoff contention. It very nearly erased all the good memories from what had been a fun, if ultimately disappointing, season. In September, fans had no reason or right to expect much. In retrospect, the Vikes' 6-0 start was an obvious mirage, especially when you consider that owner Red McCombs committed the team to a year of budget ball. Still, there were some pleasant surprises in '03. Most notable: the performance of rookie running back Onterrio Smith, who lived up to his self-anointed status as the steal of the draft. But as has been the case every season since 1998, the Freak was indisputably the Vikings' best player--the guy who won the most games, put the most asses in seats, and made the most highlight reels. Strictly by the numbers, Moss was better this year than in any of his five previous seasons, all of which have been stellar. He broke his record for receiving yards in a season (1,632). He tied his record for TDs (17). He didn't get arrested for a traffic violation. And no discussion of Moss's 2003 season would be complete without a mention of what was possibly the most entertaining sideline moment in Vikings history: the thug-look exhibition from a handful of Vikings on what would prove to be the biggest victory of the season, a 45 to 20 whipping of the streaking Kansas City Chiefs. Moss was among the players to unleash his cornrows for the game. His electroshock 'fro--one part Don King, two parts Hendrix--was as spectacular as the two-touchdown performance in the first half that set the great rout in motion.
Readers' Choice: Randy Moss BEST LYNX PLAYER Katie Smith The 2003 season saw both full-time denizens of the Target Center lose a first-round playoff series. For the long-suffering Wolves, this was, of course, nothing new. But for their WNBA counterparts, it was cause for celebration. After a coaching change and a revamping of the roster, the Lynx made their first playoff trip. And right there, as she has been from the beginning, was Katie Smith, the best Twin Cities athlete your average KFAN listener has never heard of. Exactly what did Smith accomplish in 2003? She started every game, finished fifth in the league in scoring, made her second All-WNBA First Team and her fourth straight All-Star appearance. Oh, and she became the first person to break the 4,000-point mark in U.S. women's professional basketball history. And then there was that playoff series, in which Smith's team-leading 23 points in game one helped lead the Lynx back from a 21-point second-half deficit for the biggest win in franchise history. With Smith inspiring another "KT 4 MVP" campaign, and Svetlana Abrasimova and new acquisition Helen Darling tailor-made for Spree-and-Sam-style supporting roles, 2004 could be a very good summer indeed.
Readers' Choice: Katie Smith BEST WILD PLAYER Dwayne Roloson Without Roli between the pipes this season, the woeful Wild would have flirted with the lowest point total in the NHL. Minnesota's hometown pro hockey team may have failed to duplicate last year's stirring playoff run, but Roloson actually improved upon his breakthrough 2002-03 season, becoming arguably the league's most capable netminder. With just a handful of games left in the 2003-04 campaign at press time, he had compiled a sterling 1.88 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage--both second-best (behind a different goalie in each category) in the NHL. The numbers are even more impressive when you consider that, given the Wild's pitiful offense, Roli was under constant pressure to be mistake-free: Eleven times this season he gave up only one goal, yet had just two wins and six ties to show for it. Roloson was so consistently good (and occasionally spectacular) that in the middle of the season, Wild coach Jacques Lemaire abandoned his policy of alternating goaltenders and simply went with Roli over Manny Fernandez. And as the Wild began trading off veterans for future draft picks later in the season, Roloson, at 34 the team's elder statesman, provided invaluable stability that kept the team competitive throughout the year.
Readers' Choice: Marian Gaborik BEST COACH Flip Saunders It's easy to forget exactly how dreadful the Minnesota Timberwolves were before Flip Saunders took the helm in 1995. His predecessor, Bill Blair, had compiled a miserable record of 27-75, and Saunders inherited a talented but troubled roster that included Tom Gugliotta, J.R. Rider, Christian Laettner, and a kid named Kevin Garnett. By the next season the Wolves were competing in the playoffs (albeit a three-game sweep by the Houston Rockets), and they've been there every year since. It's a testimony to the onetime Golden Valley Lutheran College coach's deft tutelage that every player who lands on the Wolves' roster--from 10-day emergency signees like Anthony Goldwire to high-impact players like Latrell Sprewell--bumps their game up a notch. The cagey Saunders has also turned the T-Wolves into one of the stingiest squads in the NBA by being one of few coaches to embrace the zone defense. The T-Wolves utilize a half-dozen different schemes that often leave the opposition bewildered. When Sports Illustrated recently polled coaches on which teams played the toughest zone defense in the league, the Wolves were cited 17 times. The runner-up's total: zero. Last but not least, the one black mark on Saunders's coaching record, the team's inability to make it past the first round of the playoffs, is about to be erased.
Readers' Choice: Flip Saunders BEST COLLEGE ATHLETE Thomas Vanek Here in the land of Herb Brooks, the usual love of the homegrown underdog runs especially strong, with affable scrappers like Dave Spehar, Kevin Lynch, and "Benchwarmer Bob" Lurtsema among the most fondly remembered local athletes. But this year, despite heartstring tugs for valiant Gophers guard Lindsey Whalen and gutty St. John's wideout Blake Elliott, it's time to give a nod to sublime, effortless, foreign-born brilliance. Thomas Vanek, the University of Minnesota men's hockey team's Austrian sensation, has spent two years making WCHA defenders look foolish. Very foolish. Very often. In fact, Vanek's talent has become such a matter of course that his most mind-blowing moves, the kind that make pro scouts salivate over their five-dollar nachos, seem almost ho-hum to the Gopher faithful. Almost. Until, in a crucial late-season game, Vanek (who, as usual, appears to be going about half-speed) splits the two defenders that give him constant, undivided attention, dangles the puck for an impossibly long moment on his backhand, then switches calmly to his forehand to flip a shot past a splayed goaltender--in the process passing the 100-point mark as a sophomore, and making fans thank their lucky stars that the old Minnesotans-only recruiting policy is just another piece of nostalgia.
Readers' Choice: Lindsey Whalen BEST HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE Erica McKenzie Housley. Broten. Chorske. Hendrickson. All legendary--if fairly recent--names of Minnesota high school hockey. And of course, being men, they all went on to greater successes in the Olympics or the NHL. But in recent years, the girls' game has been churning out players who, in certain circles, have become household names as well. That's certainly the case with Erica McKenzie, the Hastings senior who was named the state's Ms. Hockey in February. Awards are nothing new to McKenzie, who was twice named the Metro player of the year by the Star Tribune, and also nabbed the St. Paul Downtown Lion's Club's female athlete of the year honor. But McKenzie has ice cred to boot, racking up 58 goals last year, and improving on that feat with 68 this season. Add in 22 assists, and McKenzie notched 90 points this season (this year's Mr. Hockey had 40 goals and 53 assists for 93 points), giving her 362 for her career. If there's one asterisk in the forward's career thus far, it's that she never led her team to the state tournament. But she carries on to the University of Minnesota next year, and McKenzie hopes to make the Olympics after that. In time, perhaps her name will be alongside all the other famous names from Minnesota that made hockey a national obsession all those years ago.
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